We've Come a Long Way
by That-Moment-of-Deja-Vu
Summary: "The Avengers are strong; but for all their strength, they're so fragile." A collection of 10 stories about the team; how the grow closer and fight for one another. Based off of one word prompts from the 100 Themes Challenge. Family themes, full team fic, no slash. Stories range from friendship, humor, angst, drama, ect.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A sudden and rare burst of inspiration made me want to do the 100 Themes Challenge. Because I know I'd never have the motivation for doing all 100 themes, I scrolled and selected 10 at random. I might add more if inspiration strikes again, but for now it will just be 10 stories. You can find the list by just Googleing "100 Themes Challenge".**

**These fics will be team-centric. No pairings, but strong bromance and family themes because I luv ^^**

**Also, my muse tells me to put random quotes at the beginning of each chapter. So I will.**

**Hope you like**

_DISCLAIMER: I shouldn't even have to tell you people that I don't own the Avengers. If I did, all of its fanfiction would be cannon._

* * *

**Theme: Heart Song**

**Characters: Tony, Steve**

**Warnings: None**

"_We all die. The goal isn't to live forever; the goal is to create something that will." –_Chuck Palahniuk

Steve strode down one of the many hallways of Stark Tower, AKA the Avengers Tower, with a barely noticeable limp in search of one particular genius playboy.

It was the morning after a very difficult mission that involved aliens, bombs, a few collapsed buildings, and two hostage situations. Naturally, they were all a _little_ tired (i.e. when Fury mentioned coming in for a meeting, Clint reached for his bow, Natasha death-glared, Tony flipped the Director off, and Bruce was just five heartbeats shy of Hulking-out…again).

Their normal post-battle dinner night was put off by unspoken agreement as the entire team was ready to collapse by the time they made it home. Now it was the following morning and any Avenger not unconscious or temporarily crippled was obligated to come to a post-battle breakfast.

Steve continued down the ridiculously long hallway when he heard the faint strains of music; curious, he followed the sound until he reached Stark's bedroom.

He paused at the door, hearing the strains of what sounded like violin music through the wood. He knocked on the door softly. Receiving no answer, Steve slowly opened the door. "Stark, it's time for…" He trailed off to a stop at the sight before him.

Tony Stark stood in the center of his room, back to the door, and playing a beautiful black violin. Sunlight streamed through the windows he was facing, casting rays on the stained wood of the instrument and glinted off of the bandages that covered Tony's neck and arms.

Tony hadn't heard Steve enter and continued to play, unaware that he now had an audience.

Captain America leaned against the door frame, awestruck. He didn't recognize the song the other man was playing, but he didn't have to. The melody was neither sad nor happy. In fact, Steve would almost say it was melancholy, hopeful, and nostalgic. It was beautiful and…strangely fitting.

'_I didn't know he could play. Seven months we've all been living under the same roof, yet we still know nothing about each other', _Steve thought with slight sadness. He was brought from his musings by Tony coaxing a clear, high pitched note from the instrument.

Steve turned and left, closing the door silently behind him and heading back down the hall. As the sounds of the violin faded, Steve smiled. His team – no, his _family_ - never ceased to surprise him.

* * *

_A/N: It's pretty short. Most of the others will be longer_

_Please let me know what you thought and if I should continue ^^_

_Next prompt: Gunshot_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who favorite and followed this story! I really appreciate it_

**Theme: Gunshot**

**Characters: Bruce/Hulk, Team**

**Warnings: Violence, Language**

"_Family is not important. It is everything." –_Michael J. Fox

**xxx**

Bruce would never be able to describe how he saw the bullet speeding toward Clint. It wasn't humanly possible; but then again, he didn't know why he even put himself in the human category anymore.

Impossible or not, he heard the shot, sensed the bullet, and _saw _it barreling through the air toward his friends unprotected head. Acting purely on instinct, Bruce shot forward and pushed the archer to the ground and out of the bullets path. He didn't feel it when the metal crushed through bone and lodged itself in his head. He didn't feel it when he hurtled forward and hit the concrete, slinging a trail of his irradiated blood through the air.

He couldn't feel anything, even as his mind began to fill with a green haze, but he could _see. _He saw his teammate's expressions go from determination to succeed in their mission, to absolute horror and disbelief. He saw Clint on the ground where he had fallen, staring into Bruce's dim green eyes with shock, his mouth opening and closing silently.

For a moment, everything stopped and silence fell. Even their targets, a large group of terrorists who had gotten hold of some old Stark Industries weapons and were destroying Manhattan, had ceased fire.

Then Tony let out a cry of complete and utter _rage_ and shot toward the group, firing repulsor rays at anyone unfortunate enough to be near. With similar cries of their own, the rest of the Avengers surged forward, attacking their targets with reinforced determination and hate.

The last thing Bruce saw before the green mist filled his mind was Clint firing an arrow into his shooters neck.

**xxx**

When Hulk's vision cleared the air was filled with noise and the sunlight was blocked by clouds of black smoke.

He knew the situation. He had been watching from behind Banner's eyes when his host mentally roused him about a mission. He knew who they were fighting and why. He knew that they had tried to kill one of his teammates. He knew that Bruce would be dead if it wasn't for him. Again.

Rage filled Hulks mind, fueled by the situation and by the anger from Banner, who Hulk knew was watching from behind his eyes now.

Smoke burned and blurred Hulk's eyes and everything was on fire and so _loud._ He growled at the sky, furious at his own disorientation when a sudden burst of wind momentarily cleared the air.

Hulk whipped his head toward the fighting down the street in time to see one target with a machine gun open fire on Steve. As the blonde went down, Hulk roared. He could feel Banner in the back of his mind, screaming as if in agony at the sight of his friends being gunned down.

With incredible speed, Hulk shot down the street toward battle. He was nearly there when a massive explosion erupted in front of him, throwing him back down the street and collapsing the buildings around the blast.

Hulk blinked, unhurt but dazed before shaking his head with a growl and jumping to his feet, cracking the pavement under him in the process. He sped down the street once more, pumping his legs faster as he saw Natasha fall and the armor of Tony's suit being torn away by the explosives.

Bruce was screaming in his head again, the words flowed into Hulks brain with unusual clarity; '_Faster! Save them SAVE THEM __**PROTECT OUR FAMILY!**__'_

Hulk bellowed and jumped into the battle, taking out a dozen enemies within seconds. He was quickly joined by Thor who proceeded to swing his hammer, calling lightning from the heavens and unto their assailants. The two slowly back toward the area between two flipped cars where Clint had gathered their fallen teammates, creating a living barrier between the remaining terrorists and their friends.

Steve blinked through the painful haze in his mind and immediately focused on the Hulk's head. He sighed with crushing relief when he saw no bullet wound in the green giants temple. He could only hope that Bruce was okay inside Hulk's mind. Steve glanced over to see his other teammates also staring at the Hulk; their expressions showing a mix of horror, guilt, and the same all-consuming relief that Steve, himself felt.

They all knew what would happen should one of their teammates die. The Avengers were strong. A group of strange and broken people, brought together to form the strongest bond the world had ever known. But for all their strength, they were so fragile. They knew that the death of one of their own would destroy them, that the fallout would be too heavy of a blow. So they protect each other in every way possible, to prevent a tragedy seen all too often in their dangerous lives.

"This must end now." Thor growled, lifting him hammer for emphasis. Hulk rumbled deeply in agreement.

Thor rushed back into the fight, a hail of gunfire following and bouncing effortlessly off his armor. Hulk tensed to jump in and join the god when a shout behind him made him turn. Clint, having moved from his defensive position in front of Natasha, was standing a few feet from him. Hulk snorted angrily at the blood on the side of Hawkeye's face, but the archer shrugged away his concern. After a quick glance to assure that none of his team was too injured, Hulk turned back toward the battle, only to be stopped again by Clint placing an insistent grip on his massive arm.

"Is he okay?" Clink asked firmly. He didn't specify who he was talking about; he didn't need to. The Avengers had learned long ago that Hulk wasn't the mindless beast everyone else thought he was.

Hulk didn't respond. Instead, he crouched down so he was more or less at his team's eye level. Clint blinked when Hulk's bright eyes locked onto his. The team gave a collective gasp when they saw Hulk's brilliant green eyes flicker with a wash of Bruce's warm brown.

It was all the answer they needed.

Clint closed his eyes and breathed deeply, nodding his thanks as Hulk jumped back into the fray.

**xxx**

The battle was over in minutes. Any terrorist still living was arrested by the S.H.I.E.L.D agents, who had showed up after Steve radioed the clear to Fury.

Being the only one's uninjured; Thor and a recently de-Hulked Bruce gave their accounts of the mission to Fury as the others were sent to the infirmary.

The exhausted demigod and doctor returned to Stark Tower, where Thor consumed three boxes of pop-tarts and Bruce made a pot of tea. They both sat on the living room couch in companionable silence as they waited for the rest of their team to return home.

**xxx**

If there was one thing to be said about the Avengers, it was that they were terrible patients.

Two minutes after arriving at the infirmary of S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, the wounded team was patched up and given a weeks' worth of painkillers and antibiotics.

Two minutes and thirty seconds after arriving, they were informed that they would have to stay overnight for observation.

Two minutes and forty-five seconds after arriving at the infirmary, the four Avengers decided that they had had enough of this bullshit.

Six minutes and fifteen seconds in, Clint had climbed through the air vents and into Natasha's room (where they proceeded to use a scalpel to pick the lock of the hospital room door), Steve had charmed his nurse into letting him leave, and Tony just swaggered out because he was Tony motherfucking Stark.

Within seven minutes, the entire medical staff was plotting creative ways to kill the infuriating superheroes without getting caught and thrown off the helicarrier by Fury.

Ten minutes after arriving at the S.H.I.E.L.D. infirmary, the four stole a quinjet and was currently flying at top speed toward Stark Tower.

They had a teammate to check on.

**xxx**

'_The others have arrived and are on their way up the elevator, Dr. Banner.'_ JARVIS' voice filtered through the air.

Bruce sat up and rubbed his exhausted eyes. They had only been waiting a few minutes before Thor was sprawled across the couch, his snores vibrating through the living room. Bruce, himself felt exhaustion pulling at his eyes, but had forced them open, wanting to be awake when the rest of his team returned. The last time they had seen him, he was lying on the pavement with a bullet hole in his head. He knew that they'd want to check on him, that they would be worried. The thought made Bruce feel warm. Having a family who worried for his safety was something he hadn't been used to before the Avengers Initiative, now he a group of the five greatest people he ever had the privilege of knowing looking out for him. Bruce had never felt so happy, so secure, and so humbled in his life.

The elevator doors opened with a _ping_, and Bruce looked up to see Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Clint standing in the hallway. They met his eyes with some hesitation, as if expecting to see him covered in blood with sightless eyes and a gaping hole in the side of his head.

Bruce gestured for them to join him and smiled softly. They returned the smile and entered quietly, mindful of the sleeping demigod across the room. Natasha took the cup of tea Bruce offered while Tony and Clint put on some coffee.

The Avengers sat there in the living room of Stark Tower, exhausted and injured, but alive. They didn't speak, and one by one they drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.

Safe.

**xxx**

_A/N: This one turned out much longer than I expected. Thanks for reading ^^ Reviews are much appreciated._

_Next prompt: Simplicity _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I know I said in the previous chapter that the theme would be 'Simplicity', but I'm having major writers block on it. So I posted this theme instead. Hope you like_

**Theme: Challenged**

**Characters: Tony, Bruce, Team**

**Warnings: Language because you know…Tony.**

**xxxx**

"I'm too smart, sexy, and rich for this." Tony groaned from his position on the hard floor of the training gym in Stark Towers, cursing the situation and his entire team in general.

After Tony and Bruce were ambushed by a group of idiotic thugs in an alley way and got their asses kicked, the rest of the Avengers had decided that their two resident genius' needed to recognize the importance of physical fitness and be trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Tony, of course, rejected the idea immediately. He complained that the entire situation was blown out of proportion. Sure they had gotten quite a few bruises and Bruce's glasses had to be replaced, but once the jolly green giant had made an appearance and smashed their assailants into a comatose state, it was fine. Happy endings all around. For them anyway.

Plus, learning hand-to-hand meant exercise. So you know. Fuck that.

Bruce looked over at him with an' I'm-Not-Impressed-By-Your-Bullshit' expression on his face. Tony glared at his fellow brother in science; the physics had barely broken a sweat the entire run (and damn could the man _run)._ He had all but left Tony behind on the track without so much as a change in breath rate. Bastard.

Tony was brought from his musings by Steve jogging into view with one eyebrow raised.

"That….was sad." The Captain stated. "Not you, though," he continued to Bruce. "You pass the cardio section with flying colors."

"Which is ironic as fuck." Tony muttered, yelping when Bruce subtlety kicked him in the ribs.

Steve sighed. This training was going to be more difficult than he thought. "Ten minute break, guys," He said, walking away from the two scientists. "Then head over to Clint and Natasha for the next section."

**xxx**

"Banner, keep your guard up." Natasha shouted. As Bruce took a moment to bring his hands up higher, Natasha darted by him, hooking her ankle around his and pushed, causing the smaller man to topple face first into the mats.

Bruce groaned and rolled over, looking up into Natasha's amused face. "Never let your enemies distract you," She said, unconcerned with the flecks of green glowing in his brown eyes.

"Right," Banner said, taking a few deep breaths.

"What gives, Bruce?" Clint asked from the other mats, where he stood smugly over a floored Tony. "I thought you had martial arts training."

"Yeah, years ago," Bruce huffed. "I'm kind of back to square one by now."

"No kidding," Natasha muttered. "You're almost as bad as Tony."

"I'm hurt by that statement," Tony called from his position at Clint's feet.

Clint rolled his eyes and looked to their current trainees. "That's enough hand-to-hand for now; let's bring out the weapons."

He and Natasha grinned as the blood drained from the two scientist's faces.

**xxx**

"They're trying to kill us."

"They're not trying to kill us, Tony. They just want us to be well trained so we can protect ourselves."

"They shot arrows at us! _Heat-seeking_ arrows!_"_

_ "_…..okay so maybe they're trying to kill us."

The two scientists rushed to Tony's lab and slammed the door behind them, breathing a sigh of relief that they had finally escaped what Tony called "a sadistic example of human torture".

"Can they get through this door?" Bruce asked while watching through the glass for their teammates with a weary expression.

"It's been Hulk-proofed," Tony replied with a flip of his hand.

"We live with a god, a super-soldier, and two master assassins," Bruce deadpanned. "One of which who could crawl in through the vents at any given moment."

"Shit. JARVIS," Tony called out. "Security code_: five eighty-seven 'Shit-Hits-The-Fan'_. Anyone who comes near this lab, kill on sight."

'_Sir,' _JARVIS' voice filtered through the air, sounding about as concerned as an AI could. '_Are you sure such thorough actions are necessary fo-'_

"Damn right it's necessary," Tony interrupted. "We have some mutinous shit going down here, J. Kill on sight."

"What about Pepper?" Bruce asked.

Tony shrugged. "She knew being with me came with risks."

Bruce rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. Now that he had a moment to catch his breath, he realized that he had just locked himself in a lab with no food, no water, an eccentric playboy, and a potentially homicidal AI while trying to avoid a training session from Hell orchestrated by his teammates, who may or may not be trying to kill him. He groaned the rubbed at his temples. He could already feel a headache forming.

"At least we have each other," Tony grinned, guessing his friend's train of thought.

"I wonder if main-lining sodium hypochlorite would kill me…" Bruce muttered to himself, looking around the lab for a syringe.

"Come on, Bruce," Tony huffed. "We're men of science, damnit! Together, we have more IQ points than all four of the others combined. We just have to beat them at their own game."

Bruce paused in his search and looked to his fellow Science Bro with a raised eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

**xxx**

Natasha was rubbing at the crick in her neck when Tony sauntered into the gym followed closely by Bruce.

Black Widow raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I thought for sure I'd have to hunt you two down to get you back here after yesterday."

"As hot as that sounds, Romanov, no need." Tony grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Natasha and Bruce rolled their eyes. "When do we start?"

"Now." Natasha darted toward Tony, crossing the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Just as she was about kick out to swipe the arrogant genius' feet from under him, Tony vanished. Natasha blinked in utter surprise and before she had a chance to react, Tony appeared behind her and tripped her with a well-placed kick to the back on her leg, causing the assassin to sprawl face first on the gym floor.

Shaking her head in confusion and ignoring Tony's obnoxious laugh, Natasha shot to her feet and rushed forward, aiming a swift uppercut toward Bruce's jaw. Her fist was centimeters away from the physicist's face when the smaller man also disappeared. Not one to fall for the same trick twice, Natasha turned swiftly and managed to dodge Bruce's sudden round-kick toward her abdomen.

"Okay," Natasha growled at the two genius' innocent smiles. "What have you two done?"

"I don't really like your tone, 'Tasha. It feels kinda threatening. Do you feel threatened, Bruce?" Tony asked as Bruce raised an amused eyebrow.

"A little bit, Tony."

"Huh. Well, it seems that th-," Tony's words were cut off by Clint dropping from the rafters, hooking his legs around both Tony and Bruce's ankles, grabbing the collar of their shirts, and pulling back sharply, causing the two scientists to tumble backwards. Both Clint and Natasha stared in awe as their two teammates vanished into thin air before they even hit the ground.

They reappeared seconds later five yards away, on the floor and trying to breathe as the air was knocked from their lungs.

"Ride's…getting a little rough," Tony wheezed, turning to his science partner. "Have you considered modifying the shield flexibility to allow for a smoother ride?"

"Yes, but the entire shielding system must be updated every sixty-four hours to maintain flexibility."

"I have some tools in the lab that could extend the needed update time. We can work on it after this."

"Sounds good. The calibration could use some adjusting as well," Bruce coughed as he and Tony struggled to sit up.

Clint raised an eyebrow as their 'science-speak' flew over his head. He turned to Natasha in confusion and saw his partner's eyes were narrowed on the rumpled physicist.

"BannerTech," She replied to Clint's questioning look.

At the sound of his name, Bruce glanced up with a small smile and Tony outright ginned.

"You're damn right it's BannerTech," Tony said, getting to his feet and practically beaming at Bruce. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Careful, Stark," Clint drawled. "Your science boner is showing."

"And proud," Tony shot back.

Clint rolled his eyes and turned to Natasha. "BannerTech is Bruce's personally patented series of technology. It's like StarkTech," She explained quietly, shooting an unamused look at the two scientists. "It looks like these two got their hands on the teleporter."

"You created a teleporter?" Clint asked Bruce in disbelief.

Tony raised an eyebrow and threw an arm over Bruce's shoulder. "Fourth smartest man in the world, remember?" He said as Bruce stuttered at the boldness of the statement.

"Stark, the whole point of this is to train the two of you in combat so you can defend yourselves," Natasha cut in sharply. "No teleporters."

"Fine," Tony shrugged as he and Bruce started taking the BannerTech teleporter watches off their wrists.

Clint narrowed his eyes. That was way too easy. As soon as the teleporter was placed on the ground, Clint shot towards Bruce, keeping his guard up for any more tricks, and aiming a kick at the smaller man's midsection. Bruce tried to dodge but Clint changed his direction slightly, causing the kick to land solidly. Bruce fell to the ground with a grunt as Tony threw a straight kick at Clint's legs. Natasha jumped in and intercepted the kick, causing Tony to lose his balance and join Bruce on the ground.

Natasha stepped back and appraised her two teammates in confusion. Where had these combat skills come from? Yesterday, the two geniuses' could barely aim a punch. Now here they were, throwing formed kicks around like they had been doing it for years. But, while their moves were far from novice, it was no match for the two assassin's combat skills.

Clint was apparently on the same train of thought. "What is that fighting style?" He asked.

"_Kalaripayattu_," Tony said, inspecting what will be a very vivid bruise on his shin.

Clint blinked in surprise and Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Which is?" She asked, losing patience.

"It's an ancient Indian martial arts style," Bruce explained.

"When did you two become experts in Indian martial arts?" Clint demanded incredulously.

"Last night," The two geniuses replied simultaneously. Tony grinned.

Natasha felt the need to step in before the conversation turned into a full-on argument. "I think we're done with combat for today. Let's start the weapons training." She didn't miss the small smirk the two scientists shared and felt her suspicions rise. As she drew her gun and Clint assembled his bow, Tony and Bruce pulled two…something's from their back pockets.

"Now what?" Clint groaned upon seeing the two strange gun-like objects the two scientists were now pointing at Natasha and himself. He'd had enough of this bullshit.

"They're compressed proton lasers," Bruce explained with a small smile. "We made them last night. Don't worry; they won't cause any permanent damage."

"We call it StannerTech," Tony said at Clint's uncomprehending gaze.

"You guys are starting to piss me off," Clint muttered.

"No need for such envy, Katniss," Tony drawled. "Green only looks good on Bruce." The man in question rolled his eyes.

"Now," Tony said loudly, switching his laser on, causing a high-pitched whine to come from the device. "You said something about weapons training?"

He and Bruce grinned at Natasha and Clint glared daggers at them.

**xxx**

Steve was in the kitchen with Thor, who had just returned from weeks visit with his Jane, when Clint, Tony, Natasha, and Bruce stumbled out the elevator, battered, bruised, and glaring bloody murder at each other. After practically shoving out of the elevator, Tony bee-lined for the bar, Bruce started making tea, and Natasha and Clint collapsed on the couch.

Ignoring Thor's questioning look, Steve smiled innocently. "How was training?" He said much to cheerfully.

He easily dodged the tea kettle, knife, arrow, and bottle of whiskey that was thrown at his head.

**xxx**

_A\N: Thanks for reading ^^_

_Next prompt: Exhaustion _


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